The Forest for the Trees....

This was written after a class discussion....

So just what do I expect to learn from being in South Africa?

That life is good in the states?
That I need to appreciate what I have?
That blacks the world over have been mistreated and the color of our skin is still an issue and is so ingrained in “our” being that it is a continuous fight.?
How do you ungrain something?
Like the grain in a piece of wood?
You must sand it and sand it and sand it to take out the deep gouge or groove that has been placed there. It doesn’t go away by itself and without some serious “elbow grease” as we would say and even then sometimes there’s still a bi of a dip in the wood, a slight showing if you look close, or in the “right light” you can still see it.

Thinking about this idea of wood leads me naturally to the idea of trees. I’m not sure I know anyone who really “hates” trees, unless it’s the tree the person hates to mow around in the front yard, or the tree that dumps sap on the car—I’d say move your car, but really trees are a beautiful sight. And there are so many different types of trees. And in Indian, in the Fall of the year, or Autumn to some, when the leaves are at their peak, they paint the most beautiful panoramic views against the skies in oranges, reds and yellows. And people flock to see those colors.

Then, I thought, people are like trees. There are so many different people. Different shapes, sizes, colors. And just like it takes all the trees to make a beautiful forest, it takes all people to make this world. All people. So why can’t we appreciate all the colors of people like we appreciate all the beautiful color of the autumn leaves? Is it really that hard?

It seems so, even though we try to hide it and often pretend that it is not, but too many things in this world still prove the contrary.